Fred Coleman and the Discovery of Julian’s Gold

Photograph of Coleman Creek today. Located behind Coleman Circle in Julian, this now dry creek bed was once the site of a gold-panning frenzy. Photo by Amber Ward.

By Amber Ward

February is a significant month for the town of Julian. Not only is it recognized nationally as Black History Month, but February also is the anniversary month of gold discovery in Julian. As a matter of fact, it was a black man who found the first gold in Julian.

There were many black pioneers present in the Julian area in the late 19th century but Fred Coleman was first to find Julian’s elusive gold.

There were two styles of mining employed in the Julian area, placer mining and hard-rock mining. The latter did not come into play until the placer miners were able to figure out from where the gold was coming. Fred Coleman was a placer miner.

Frederick Coleman, sometimes referred to as A.H. Coleman, lived near the base of Volcan Mountain. The 1880 Census recorded he and his Native American wife, Maria. had 11 children. They lived and worked on a ranch herding cattle. Little is known about Coleman’s background, but we do know that he was a native of Kentucky and may have been a former slave. It is assumed that he learned some mining skills in Northern California before settling in the Julian area.

As the story goes, it was 1869 and Coleman was out herding cattle in the Spencer Valley area. He stopped aside the creek to let his horse get a drink when he a saw something glimmer out of the corner of his eye. Because of his experience in Northern California, he knew exactly what it was that he saw. He wasted no time and started to pan for gold with his skillet that he kept in his pack.

There had been many rumors that there was gold in the mountains of San Diego. On Feb. 17, 1870, the San Diego Union was the first to support the rumors with evidence.

“No rich strikes yet. A district was organized 60 miles from San Diego City near the Santa Ysabel Ranch called the Coleman District. 75 prospectors present putting sluices to test placers. An old placer miner informs that these are surface diggings, there is no indication of any considerable deposit. Another resident of section says gold placers present for long time, attracting little attention because past prospecting would pay no more than $1.50 to $2 a day.” (San Diego Union Feb. 17, 1870)

It was not long before Julian was teaming with gold-thirsty prospectors. Most made $2 to $3 a day and not the “twenty dollars a day to the man,” that was claimed. Soon, a tent city on the banks of Coleman Creek was formed, called Emily City. Here lived the 75 prospectors working the surface diggings of the Coleman Mining District. Fred Coleman formed the district and was elected camp recorder.

It was not long after the influx of placer miners that they figured out that the gold found in Coleman Creek had to be coming from a hard-rock source somewhere above the stream. On Feb. 18, 1870, Drury Bailey discovered the first quartz ledge, or exposed quartz vein, signifying the beginning of hard rock mining in the Julian area. He called it “Warrior’s Rest.” Three days later, the Washington Mine was started. That was all the evidence that was needed and soon the Julian Mining District was formed with Mike Julian serving as recorder.

Julian gold was fine and inconspicuous. There is no record of any large nuggets found in the Julian area. The gold was extracted using two methods, placer mining and hard-rock mining. Placer mining involves using anything handy for gold panning, like a pie tin or skillet, or the use of a sluice box.

This long, inclined trough is used to separate gold ore from sand or gravel found at the bottom of a stream. The sluice box creates an artificial channel for water using a gate at one end to regulate the flow while the ore is separated. Hard-rock mining involves large pieces of quartz that are extracted and then processed to reveal the gold contents. The amalgamation process is one way gold was extracted from the quartz. The large portions of rock were crushed and mixed with mercury forcing the gold to bond with the mercury, separating it from the quartz. The mercury/gold mixture was then heated, burning away the mercury and leaving only the gold.

There are many other ways to get the final gold product from the quartz, including mixing gold with other metals like silver, which in turn devalues the final product. Most of Julian’s gold sold for about $16 an ounce. Pure gold was almost unheard of in the Julian district.

Because Julian’s gold was hard to find, it took many years for the prospectors to be successful. Many were living in the Julian area decades before the first gold was discovered. Thanks to Fred Coleman and those that followed in his footsteps, we can enjoy the historic mining town of Julian.